Harrow-evener.



A. R. KEELER.

HARROW EVENER.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 31. I9I4.

1 1 59,043. Patented Nov.. 2, 1915.

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ALONZO R. KEELER, ALTONA, ILLINOIS.

To all ywhom t may concern p Beit known that I, ALONZO R. KEELER, av citizen of the United States, residing at 'Alton'a, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harrow-Eveners, of which the vfollowing is a specification.V

rIhe present invention has reference tov 'Y certain improvements in agricultural imple- Yments which are vgenerally known as harrow evenei's. These implements are used chiefly for the'purposeofl breaking up the clods of soil and leveling or evening the ground so as to bring thecuitivated field into a finished condition. v

'IheM harrows are made in various form and stylesbut ordinarily each harrow section comprises a rectangular fra-me within which are supported teeth or other clodbreaking. and evening devices. `It is impractical-to construct and use a harrow section of very large' size, largely for the reason that'it will not properly follow the changes in contour of the Ydifferent portions of the field if so constructed. It is therefore customary to attach two or more harrow frame sections to a draw-bar so that each frame section will be free to rise and fall independentlyv of the others. As a rule, two of these sections thus attached to a common draw-bar can be properly operated by a. team of horses, butin case more than two sections are attached to the samefbar additional horse-power is necessary. vlVhei-e it is desired to even over a `greater width of track than that covered by work on the same draw-point, but the main disadvantage is that the entire arrangement of great width includes va very long draw-bar, so that .it is impossible to drive the same through a farm gate of ordinary width without entirely disassembling the structure. Furthermore, when this arrangement is used,.the several sections cannot be individually operated without considerable re-arspecification@ Lettersraternt. Application mea July 31, 1914. serial No. 854,401.

rar-enten Nov. a, i915.

rangement. Furthermore, r`such an arrangemet'as the foregoing possessesthe' additional disadvantagethat the individual' narlrow sections are to' a large extent inter-dependent in their vai'ious movements and adthemselves tothe varying contour of a considerable width or stripof ground. f

The main obj ect of the 'present invention is to provide means for joiningV together two or more independent groups of harrow sections vso that when so joined vthey will of necessity operate as a single unit, t'o theextent that'they will maintain their proper lrelative vpositions along 4the width of a strip of ground; nevertheless, Vto s'o join them that they will be free Vto move4 independentlyV of each other to theextent necessary topermit Vjustments as theytravel'over the field, so .that they cannot perfectly accommodate them to individually* adjust themselves to c varying conditions in the contour of the land and to compensate for the momentary'variations in draw-pull exerted by the'individual teams which draw them; also to provide suoli a connection between the harrow sections that they 'can be immediately disconnected from each other and used or operated asindependent sections of the usual width.

vThis 'will permit fthe several sectionsto be,

independently operated in some portions of theV field and will lalso'enable the farmer to drivefthe sections independently through a farm gate, after which they may be again joined together' if so desired. t

Other objects andr uses will appear from a detailed descriptionof the invention, which i consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In thedrawing: Figure l shows in plan p view a pair of harrow units joined together to produce a structure of double widthin accordance with the disclosures of the present invention, the individual harrow frames ybeing illustrated Vdiagi'ammaticallyY by rectangular frames; Fig. 2 shows in 'perspective an enlarged detail View ofthe connection `between the two units; and Fig. 8 shows a view similar to that of Fig. 2, with the eX- ception that one of the draw-bars has advanced beyond the other, such aswould be the case upon the application of an unusually'large pulln on said draw-bar.

In the drawing I have illustrated two groups ofharrow sections, A and B. Each of these groups includes two harrow frames described. In order to join these units together, I provide a connection such that the units are maintained a constant distance apart, while at the same time permitting them to turn or swing freely with respect to each other and also permitting them to individually adjust themselves back and forth the desired amount. In the particular construction illustrated in detailin Figs. 2 and 3, one of the draw-bars 5 is provided with a pair of straps 8 and 9 on its front and rear faces, said straps being preferably bent outward away from each other so as to provide an additional clearance between their end portions 10. The amount of the clearance between these end portions determines or Vlimits the amount of back and forth movement which the harrows may have with respect to each other. The other draw-bar 6 is provided with a pair of straps 11 and 12 on its front and rear faces, and the end portions 13 of said straps are brought together substantially as illustrated. A pin 14 of any desired form is run through the end portions 10 of the straps 8 and 9 and may j be held in position as by means of a cotter pin 15. The hole 16 in the end portions 13, through which passes the pin 14e, is of such size as to allow some play at that point, so

' that the two harrow sections can readily turn with respect to each other and so that the back and forth movement will readily occur.

When it is desired to disconnect the sections it is only necessary to remove the pin 14, which in the present case can be done after drawing the cotter pin. Thereupon the two harrow units are independent of each other for all purposes. If desired, additional units can be joined ytogether end to end in this manner, so that three or more units can be brought together to provide an evener of any desired over-all dimensions. The advantages of this arrangement will readily manifest themselves. In addition to tho-se already mentioned in the form of permitting Ythe sections to be readily connected or disconnected and of permitting the desired amount of back and forth play between 1. ln a harrow evener, thev combination of a .plurality of harrow units, each unit having its individual draw-bar, a pair of diverging straps secured to one end of one of the draw-bars. a pair of converging straps secured to the adjacent end of the other draw-bar, and a removable pin extended through the diverging straps and through the converging straps to permit the converging straps to travel back and forth on said pin between the diverging straps. n 2. ln a harrow evener the combination of a pair of barrow units, a rigid draw bar in the forward portion of each of said units, draft means connected to each of said draw bars independently of the other draw bar, and means joining together the adjacent ends of the dra-v' bars to space the same while permitting relative backward and forward movement of one draw bar with respect to the other.

3. In a harrow evener the combination of a' pair of barrow units, a rigid draw bar in the forward portion of each of said units, draft means connected to each of said draw bars independently of the other draw bar, and a single connection between the adjacentends of the draw bars, said connection spacing said ends a desired distance apart while permitting relative backward and forward movement of each draw bar with respect to the other.

ALONZO R. KEELER.

llVitnesses i J. M. MCKIE, G. N. LABsoN.

Copies 0i this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

